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EDWARD ST. LOE LIVERMORE. 




By Mrs. Caroline Livermore abbott. 






Written by request, for the Old 'Residents' Historical 
Association, of Lovoell : With Note by Alfred Gilinan. 



READ AT THE QUARTERLY MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION, NOV. 12, 1879. 



riiblished by George M. Elliott, 48 Central St., Lowell, Mass., 1879. 



Edward St. Loe Livermore, the subject 
of this sketch, was born in Portsmouth, 
N. H., April 5, 1762. He was the 
son of Samuel Livermore, a former 
Chief Justice of New Hampshire, and 
his wife Jane, the daughter of the 
Rev. Arthur Browne, and was of the 
sixth generation, in lineal descent, 
from John Livermore, who emigrated to 
America in the bark "Frances," which 
sailed from Ipswich, England, during 
the year 1634. 

John Livermore settled first in Water- 
town, Massachusetts, where he lived 
until 1665, when he removed to Wethers- 
field, Connecticut. From Wethersfield 
he went to New Haven, where his name 
appears in the town records as one of 
the signers of the fundamental agree- 
ment ot the Colony of New Haven. 

In 1670 he returned to Watcrtown, 
where, after having filled many offices of 
trust, he died in 1685. His wife, Grace, 
died and was buried in 1686 at Chelms- 
ford, where visitors to the old rural 
grave-yard may still see an ancient, 
moss-covered stone "erected to her 
memory, by her dutiful children." 

Samuel Livermore, the great grand- 
son of John Livermore, inherited from 
his uncle Jonathan the homestead in 
Watertown now known as the "Lyman 
Farm," in Waltham, and "was much trust- 
ed in nmnicipal and church aflairs." He 
married the daughter of Deacon Brown 
of Boston and died at the age of seventy- 
one years in 1773, leaving four sons, all 
of whom became distinguished men. To 
his fourth son, Samuel, the father of the 



subject of this sketch, he left "The 
Homestead." 

Samuel Livermore, was born in 1732. 
At the age of twenty he was graduated 
at Nassau Hall in New Jersey, and af- 
terwards read law with Judge Trow- 
bridge at Beverly. Soon after being 
admitted to the bar he settled at Ports- 
mouth. New Hampshire, where, in 1759, 
he married Jane, the daughter of the 
Rev. Arthur Browne. Arthur Browne 
was the first Episcopal minister sev,'ed 
in New Hampshire. He was born ■., 
1699 at Drogheda, Ireland and was a 
son of the Rev. Thomas Browne, a de- 
scendant of the Brownes of Colston. 
He was educated for the ministry at 
Trinity College, Dublin, and was or- 
dained by the Bishop of London. In 
1729 he was settled at Newport, Rhode 
Island, as rector of Trinity Church under 
the auspices of "The British Society 
for the Propagation of the Gospel in 
Foreign Parts." In 1733 he removed to 
Providence, Rhode Island, where he 
was for a few years rector of what is 
now known as St. John's church. In 
1737 he was called to St. John's church 
in Portsmouth, of which he was rector 
until his death, which occurred while on 
a visit at Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 
1773. He was a man of great learning, 
and of a genial and benevolent disposi- 
tion. Upon one occasion, as he was din- 
ing at the house of Governor Went- 
worth, where he was a frequent and wel- 
come guest, he was ordered by the Gov- 
ernor to perform the ceremony l)y which 
the maid-servant Patty became the gov- 






ernor's wife, Lady Wentworth — an inci- 
dent which has since been celebrated in 
verse by Longfellow. The silver tank- 
ard, engraved with the Wentworth coat 
of arms, which the Governor took 
from the table and gave to Arthur 
Browne at the conclusion of the cere- 
mony, is still in the possession of his de- 
scendants. 

Samuel Livermore soon became a sue 
cessful lawyer and was appointed Attor- 
ney General for the Province and King's 
Advocate in the Courts of Admiralty. In 
1765 he removed to Londonderry, N. H., 
and in this town was born his son Arthur, 
who became a justice of the Supreme 
Court, Chief Justice of the Court of Com- 
mon Pleas and member of Congress. In 
1769 Samuel Livermore removed to Hol- 
derness, near Plymouth. Here he lived 
until his death, in almost feudal state, on 
the banks of the Pemigewasset River. 
The huge house which he rebuilt there is 
still known as the "Old Livermore Man- 
sion," and is now used for the Episco- 
pal Seminary for the Diocese of New 
Hampshire. After the breaking out of 
the war of the Revolution he was made 
State Attorney General, and was several 
tim^ a delegate to the Continental Con- 
g/t^ss. In 1782 he was appointed Chief 
Justice of the State. He was a member 
of the convention for the adoption of the 
Federal Constitution, under which he 
was a representative in the first Con- 
gress, and, later, a senator for nine 
years. He was for several years Presi- 
dent pro tempore of the Senate of the 
United States. He died in 1803 and was 
buried at Holderness in the shadow of 
the church which he built and for many 
years had supported. He and his wife 
were noted for their loving charities. 

Edward St. Loe Livermore received 
his early education at Londonderry and 
Holderness, where his fother's chaplain, 
the Rev. Robert Fowle, was his tutor. 
He studied law at Newburyport in the 
office of that distinguished jurist, Chief 
Justice Parsons. Upon being admitted 
to the bar, he began the practice of law 
at Concord, New Hampshire, where he 
soon acquired a high position in his pro- 
fession. Here, while still very young, 
he married his first wife, a daughter of 
Robert Harris, Esquire. She died in 
1795, leaving five children, all of whom 



are now dead. She was a highly edu- 
cated, refined and agreeable woman. 

Judge Livermore's eldest son by his 
first marriage, Samuel, was educated at 
Harvard College. He was a friend of 
Captain Lawrence, of the "Chesapeake," 
under whom he served as a volunteer in 
the celebrated sea-fight with the British 
frigate "Shannon," where he was wound- 
ed and taken prisoner. He afterwards 
practised law in New Orleans, where he 
amassed a considerable fortune. He 
was the author of several treatises upon 
different branches of the law, which are 
still referred to as authorities. At his 
death he left to Harvard College his li- 
brary of some thousand volumes, which 
was then, if it is not still, the richest in 
America in works relating to the Civil 
Law. His sister, Harriet, was widely 
known and respected as a traveller in 
the Holy Land. 

Soon after the death of his first wife 
Mr. Livermore removed to Portsmouth, 
where in a short time he became distin- 
guished in professional and political life. 
He was appointed by President Washing- 
ton United States district attorney for 
New Hampsiiire, an office which he held 
until 1798, when he was made a justice 
of the Supreme Court of New Hamp- 
shire. In 1799 he married Sarah Crease, 
the daughter of William Stackpole, a 
distinguished merchant of Boston. She 
has been well described as "a woman of 
sweet and amiable temper with an en- 
tire absence from her character of 
envy, hatred and uncharitableness." 
Her consistent Christian life and 
deportment warmly attached her to 
all who knew her, or came within 
the sphere of her gentle, winning 
influence. Well might it be said of her 

" None knew her but to love, 
None named her but to praise." 

Judge Livermore was a Federalist of 
the old school. Living at a time when 
something more than partisanship was 
required of men in public life, although 
he belonged to the party which was in 
the minority, his gentlemanly and cour- 
teous bearing and the urbanity of his 
manners gave him much personal popu- 
larity, even with his political opponents. 
After a faithful discharge of his duties as 
judge, he resigned and resumed the 
practice of law. 



In 1802 he removed with his family to 
Newburyport, where he soon became a 
leading man, and represented the town 
in the General Court of the State. "His 
course there was so wise and judicious 
that he was selected to represent the Es- 
sex North District, then so-called, in 
Congress." On the 22nd of December, 
1S07, Congress, upon recommendation of 
President Jetferson, passed the famous 
"embargo" act which was intended "to 
countervail Napoleon's Berlin and Mi- 
lan decrees, and the British orders in 
council." Judge Livermore took an 
active part in the debates of the House 
upon the passage of this act, and, later, 
used all his endeavors to have it repeal- 
ed. He made in particular one very 
forcible and eloquent speech upon this 
subject, which won for him many laurels. 

In 1811 he declined a re-election to 
Congress, and soon afterwards removed 
to Boston. About this time he caught 
the so-called "Western fever" and took 
his large family to Zanesville, Ohio, 
which was at that time looked upon as 
the "far west," with the intention of set- 
tling there. The comforts of civiliza- 
tion had not yet spread through that 
part of the new world. It was before 
the daj's of railways, and the long and 
tedious journey from the East had to be 
performed in carriages suited to the 
rough roads of the country. Judge Liv- 
ermore and his family could not bring 
themselves to submit to the many de- 
privations and hardships necessarily at- 
tending a residence in the West at that 
time, and consequently they soon re- 
turned to the East. 

Upon his return. Judge Livermore, de- 
sirous of passing the rest of his days re- 
moved from the bustle of city and politi- 
cal life, selected ftir out in the country, 
in the town of Tewksbury, a quiet home 
farm, of about two hundred acres, call- 
ed the "Gedney estate." The mansion 
house upon this estate, was beautifully 
situated at the confluence of the Concord 
and Merrimack rivers. Standing at an 
elevation of from forty to fifty feet above 
the level of the water, it commanded a 
"clistant and lovely view of both the 
streams. Back of the house, upon tlie 
opposite side of the Merrimack, rose 
Dracut Heights, looming up as if to 
shield the spot from the north winds. 



The house itself was a large, old ram- 
bling building, and the tradition was, 
that all its beams and wood work were 
prepared in England and brought to this 
country for a Mr. Brown, who once 
owned the estate. However this might 
be, it was certainly a lovely old man- 
sion ; a fit residence for the new owners, 
who brought to it high culture and good 
breeding. Some of tlie older residents 
of the goodly city which has since 
sprung up about it maj- still remember 
the house as it then stood, with the lawn 
in front, bordered on one side by a long 
avenue of Lombardy poplars. "Here," to 
quote the words of one of Lowell's dis- 
tiuguished citizens, "lived the Hon. Ed- 
ward St. Loe Livermore, whose per.son- 
al talents, public reputation, and fire- 
side hospitality gave eclat to the place." 

For many years Judge Livermore had 
associated with men prominent in letters 
and politics in tiiis and other countries, 
and had taken an active part in the po- 
litical transactions of tlie times, so tliat 
being endowed with a comprehensive 
memory, lie had a large fund of anec- 
dotes at his command, and his conver- 
sation was agreeable and instructive to 
all with whom he came in contact. 
When he bought the Gedney estate in 
Tewksbury he called it "Belvidere," a 
most appropriate name for so beautiful 
a place. Until 1820 the nearest place of 
public worship was at Pawtucket Falls, 
about two miles from "Belvidere," 
where the Rev. Mr. Sears, a Presbyterian 
minister, preached for many years, and 
here the Livermore family were constant 
attendants. When the Merrimack Man- 
ufacturing Company was organized, they 
built for Mr. Kirk Boott, his family and 
otiier f]piscopalians, a church, intending 
it simply for the use of the persons con- 
nected with the manufacturing establish- 
ment. At the first church meeting of 
the new parish, a pew was kindly placed 
at the disposal of Judge Livermore. He 
and his wife continued to occupy this 
pew until their deaths, and it is still oc- 
cupied by their eldest daughter, the only 
member of the family wlio now lives in 
Lowell. The Kev. Theodore Edson, the 
beloved pastor who still fulfils his duties 
with unwearied zeal, was the first cler- 
gyman installed in this church — sympa- 



thizing with the afflicted and rejoicing 
" with those who do rejoice." 

Judge Livennore lived to see a large 
and flourishing city spring up around 
the lonely spot he had selected for a 
quiet home, and to gatlier round his fire 
side neighbors wlio would have graced 
society in any city in the world. 

At Judge Liverniore's death, wliich 
occurred on the 15th of September, 1832, 
he left seven children, four of whom are 
now living, viz : Elizabeth Browne I^iv- 
ermore, who lives in Lowell. Caroline, 
Avife of Judge J G. Abbott of Boston, 
Sarah Stackpole, wife of John Tatter- 
son, Esq., of Southbridge, and Mary 
Jane, wife of Hon. Daniel Saunders, of 
Lawrence, also several grand and great- 
grand children. 

Judge Livermore, although of a quick 
and hot temper, was a just, upright, hos- 
pitable man, with "a tear for pity, 
and a hand open as day for melting 
charity." The poor man never turned 
from liis door empty handed, or tlie af- 
flicted without sympathy. He died in 
the sure hope of the resurrection of the 
dead and a life to come. "The mem- 
ory of the just lives with the just." 

September 14, 1S79. 



NOTE. 

The Old Tellotv Hotise. — Timothy Brown 
pin-ehased the farm in that neighborhood of 
Samuel Hunt about the year 17.53. Hunt's 
Falls took the name from him. Brown built 
the yellow house about the jear 1770 ami sold 
it to" Woodward in 1800. Woodward sold it 
to Gedney in 18I0-'H; Gedney to Whittemore 
in 1815-'l(i ; Whittemore sold it to Livermore. 

Timothy Hrown's house wa* a noted tavern. 
His daus'liter, Dorcas, married Parker Var- 
num, of Dracut. They had fifteen children. 
Hon. John Varnuni, of Haverhill, whograilu- 
ated at Harvard College, 1798, and repi-esented 
that district in C'<^ngress, married Mary Cook 
Saltonstall, born Sept. '20, 1781, a daughter of 
Dr. Nathaniel Saltonstall, of HaverhiU. 

Dorcas Varnum married Oliver Stearns, a 
lawyer, of Amesbury. A daughter of theirs 
married William H. Hull, who resides in what 
was Dracut, now Lowell. 

Mrs. Caleb Butler, of Groton, was a daugh- 
ter of Parker Varnum and Dorcas Brown. 
The late Peder Anderson married her daugh- 
ter f >r his first wife. Mrs. Butler's eldest 
ditughter married the late Rev. T. Atkinson, 
formerly pastor of the High Street Church, 
who built the stone house, on Andover Street, 
now occupied by Mr. D. W. C. Farrington. 
The youngest daughter married F. A. Brooks, 
Esq.i of Boston, president of the Nashua and 
Lowell Railroad. 

Mrs. William F. Brazer, of Groton, another 
daughter, has descendants in Lowell, the 1am- 
ilv iif our wortliv citizen William P. Brazer 
aiid Mrs. S. B. Eaton. 

Mrs. B. S. Coburu, of Dracut, was another 
tlaughter whose descentlants I have been un- 
able to trace. 



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